Palace soul sisters
Kate and Meghan rewrite the royal rule book
Just five months after giving birth, the Duchess of Cambridge has returned from her maternity leave somehow looking more confident and relaxed than ever!
Showing no sign of the stress or sleep deprivation that usually comes from being a new mother-ofthree, Kate, 36, breezed through a visit to London’s Sayers Croft Forest School and Wildlife Garden, where she befriended a bunch of city children who were getting a chance to engage with the natural world.
Sporting a sleeker, slightly straighter hairstyle, the duchess – in $60 skinny jeans from Zara, a $785 silk shirt and the same pair of $945 boots she’s been wearing since 2004 – was unfazed as the kids descended on her, grabbing her hands and hugging her.
She laughed as a besotted four-year-old girl named Anwaar showed off with a plastic cup, then joined the kids on a “mini-beast hunt”, which saw them unearth frogs, toads, worms and other creepy-crawlies.
“I’m going to find a snake,” declared one girl, prompting a smile from Kate, who only found a slug. But it was clear the duchess wasn’t
squeamish – she confessed she’d recently spent two hours on a “spider hunt” with her two eldest children, Prince George, five, and three-year-old Princess Charlotte.
“She really understands the value of being outdoors for children, especially those in cities who never have the chance to get their hands dirty,” tells Forest school head Zoe Stroud, while royal watchers note that the brunette beauty – who gave birth to Prince Louis on April 23 – looked more tactile and natural than she ever has before, perhaps having subconsciously picked up some tricks from the new Duchess of Sussex.
“Kate was very touchyfeely,” an onlooker tells
Woman’s Day. “She couldn’t stop smiling and hugging the kids. It’s a warm side of Kate that we’ve hardly seen in years. Especially when she first joined the royal family, she was more shy and formal. But now she’s more relaxed than ever, even smiling directly at cameras like Meghan does – she’s really turned on the charm.”
Aunt watch!
Though Kate has only just returned from maternity leave, there are already rumours circling that she may be pregnant with her fourth child. However, our palace sources insist it’s not true just yet. But she has been busy supporting her sister Pippa Matthews, 35, who was due to give birth to her firstborn any moment as we went to press.
Only once she’s become an aunt, then she and Prince William, 36, might start trying for one final baby. A royal insider tells us, “Louis is a dream child and Kate’s already feeling back to herself, so it could be sooner rather than later. William always wanted four children, like the Queen, and Kate’s not getting any younger, plus they want the age gaps between the kids to be as small as possible.”
Another well-placed source adds, “If all goes to plan, she expects to be pregnant again by the early part of next year. Kate is very organised and while she had problems conceiving the first time around, it happened very quickly with Charlotte and Louis.
“Frankly, Kate can’t wait – she’s 37 in January and she can’t imagine being pregnant when she’s 40. And while Wills pulls a face like he’s in no rush to have another child, the truth is that he loves being a dad. The more the merrier, he says in private.”
In the meantime, after William returns from Africa, the couple are planning a romantic mini-break in St Andrews, Scotland, where they first met and fell in love, in order to spend some quality time together – something they’ve both been craving since Louis came along.
We’re told they’ll be staying in the luxurious royal suite of the exclusive Kinnettles Hotel, with an insider adding, “They’re revelling in being parents to their three beautiful children, but they’re very much looking forward
to some time off, leaving Grandma and Grandpa Middleton to step in.
“William’s arranged a private dinner at one of their old favourite haunts, a family-owned Italian restaurant that they used to frequent on date nights in their university days. They’ve also planned to do some of their favourite hikes, as well as some wine-tasting, which is something Kate wants to make the most of before she falls pregnant again!”